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Shale
} |name = Shale |image = Shale face.JPG |px = 270px |race = Dwarf (formerly) Golem |gender = N/A Female (formerly) |class = Warrior |quests = A Golem's Memories |caste = Warrior (formerly) |voice = Geraldine Blecker |appearances = Dragon Age: The Stolen Throne Dragon Age: Origins - The Stone Prisoner Dragon Age Legends Dragon Age: Asunder Heroes of Dragon Age }} Shale is a stone golem and potential companion in Dragon Age: Origins. It can be recruited from the town of Honnleath through The Stone Prisoner DLC. Background Shale is one of the war golems created by Paragon Caridin in -255 Ancient to defend the dwarven thaigs against the darkspawn during the First Blight. As such, it has been a golem for more than a thousand years. Shale was a part, for a time, of the Legion of Steel a dwarven army regiment that was composed completely by golems and she was the only female volunteer to join this regiment. However, Shale seems able to accurately remember only the events of approximately the last 30 years, and its knowledge of what it did prior to that is mainly based on what it has heard from others. Eventually, in 8:93 Blessed, a deactivated Shale and its control rod were found by Wilhelm, a mage who trying to escape from shrieks in the Deep Roads. Wilhelm reactivated the golem and, for many years, used it to his own ends: Shale became an object of study, a trophy, and a weapon during the Fereldan Rebellion, for both Moira Theirin's and later Maric Theirin's rebel forces. After the war, Wilhelm settled in the village of Honnleath, taking Shale with him and continuing his study of the golem. While under Wilhelm's control, Shale was experimented on, paraded around the village like a pet, and even chiseled down to a smaller size so that it might more easily fit through the doorways in Wilhelm’s home. Wilhelm was found dead outside his tower in 9:04 Dragon, with a deactivated Shale standing frozen over his body. Though there were no witnesses to the event, Shale was believed to have killed him. In response to the mage's seeming death at the golem's hands, Shale's control rod was sold to a merchant by Wilhelm's wife, in the hopes that Shale would never be activated again. But, though it was deactivated, the golem was still aware of its surroundings. Shale remained that way for decades, awake but unable to move. Involvement Dragon Age: The Stolen Throne Dragon Age: Origins ''Dragon Age: Asunder Shale is accompanying Wynne to an abandoned Grey Warden outpost in the Western Approach where Pharamond, a Tranquil researcher and personal friend of Wynne's, is investigating the nature of the Rite of Tranquility. According to Wynne, Pharamond's research might give insight into how to return Shale to its original female dwarven form. When Shale and Wynne arrive at the outpost, they find it overrun by demon-possessed corpses. As Wynne leaves to find help in Val Royeaux, Shale stays behind to ensure nothing escapes the outpost. After confronting the abomination, Shale was to stand watch while the others entered the Fade, but was drawn through the Veil with them. After rescuing Pharamond, Shale goes to the Circle of Magi in Montsimmard so the information about the Rite of Tranquility could be disseminated among the circles quickly. Later Shale joins Evangeline and Wynne in their raid on the White Spire and destroys the phylacteries stored there. Shale is also present at a gathering at Wynne's resting place, her ashes being buried beside an old oak tree.}} Gifts Shale has a preference for "remarkable" gemstones. There is an issue with the Xbox 360 and PS3 versions which causes Shale to not give the standard for the first gem; instead you receive , which decreases as usual, so that after receiving four of the gems, Shale seems uninterested in the others ("So I'm to keep this then, am I? Fine."), giving only for the rest, giving a measly 18 approval for giving them all to Shale. Therefore, you have to rely on conversation and your actions to get higher approval. If you have the Feastday Gifts and Pranks DLC, however, you might also compensate for this bug with the thoughtful gifts and sugar cakes available from Bodahn Feddic. No matter how many are given, a Thoughtful Gift is always worth , while a Sugar Cake is worth . }} Initial statistics Attributes Relative attribute weightings on auto-level: Talents (PC) Equipment s]] Shale does not use conventional weapons or armor. Instead, much like Dog, the golem has two slots for specialized equipment: * Small Crystals, which act as weapons and appear on Shale's wrists; they grant a bonus to the corresponding elemental attack damage, convert all damage to the crystal's element type, and can (depending on their quality and type) grant bonuses to various attacks, attributes, and health/stamina regeneration. Because Shale's damage is largely elemental based, Vulnerability Hex and Affliction Hex are helpful in boosting damage. * Large Crystals, which act as armor and appear on Shale's shoulders and legs; they grant a bonus to the corresponding elemental resistance and can (depending on their quality and type) grant bonuses to various defenses, attributes, and health/stamina regeneration. There are a total of 50 different crystals: 25 small crystals, 25 large crystals. Both sizes of crystals come in each of the five elemental types and in five varying degrees of quality. Equipping Shale with a small and large crystal of the same elemental type will grant an additional set bonus of +10% to the corresponding resistance. Plot skills Quotes ]] * "I wonder what it is like to float...or drown." * ''(If given one of the Remarkable Gems) "Oooh, Shiny!" * "I would appreciate it if it didn't spread around that I said anything. Humans might start to get the wrong idea. They might start thinking their race is not completely hopeless." * "Now, let us crush something soft and watch it fountain blood. That is a girlish thing to want to do, yes?" * (While conversing with Sten about the Qun) "Does sound like a delightful place where it comes from. Mages on leashes. What will they think of next?" Dialogue * Shale: "I see it found some augmentation crystals. I was not even aware it knew about them... well done! So? What does it think? They don't make me look any wider, do they? I find I am already too wide as it is." * The Warden: "No, no, they're quite slimming." * Shale: "They are, aren't they? I so adore them! I think it should find some more as soon as possible. I want to glitter from ear to ear... so to speak!" Trivia * Shale, the golem control rod, and Wilhelm's Cottage were originally intended to be found in Redcliffe Village and therefore be accessible in the base version of the game. * Like Dog, Shale uses no weapons. So, when Frost Weapons, Flaming Weapons, or Telekinetic Weapons is enabled, its visual effect is applied to Shale's entire body. * Shale mentions being chiseled down to a smaller size by Wilhelm at the behest of his wife, who complained that the golem couldn't fit through the doors of their home. This refers to difficulties the developers had with getting Shale to fit through many of the game's doorways when they used the original golem graphical model for it. A full-sized version of Shale can be seen during its nightmare in the Fade. * At Soldier's Peak (after Levi has set up shop), birds will migrate towards Shale and follow it around. * To capture the ambiguity of Shale's gender, the voice actress's already gravelly voice was pitch-shifted down to sound deeper and more masculine. * Shale is referenced twice in Dragon Age II: ** Corff the Bartender indirectly references Shale when he mentions that "the pigeon population has taken a nose dive in Ferelden". ** During the epilogue, a picture of Shale chasing some chickens appears on one of the flipping pages of Cassandra's book. * Shale's codex entry after completing her personal quest contains information that is inconsistent with other game lore. It says she became a golem "300 years earlier", presumably 300 years earlier than the current events in the game. However, Shale was created by Caridin around 1200 years ago. * Shale was to appear in the cut plot "Finding Shale" for Dragon Age II. The plot was replaced with Finding Nathaniel. * Shale is the only member of the party who cannot throw the Stick for Dog to fetch. * A dwarven Inquisitor comes from the same house as Shale. * David Gaider stated that Shale was influenced by a "combination of forced pigeon sex viewings and my bristling hatred of everything outdoors". Gallery Shale Bioware Char Art.png|Character art Shale da2.jpg‎|Shale chasing chickens in Cassandra's book Diamond Shale.png|Promotional image of Ruby and Diamond Shale in Heroes of Dragon Age Diamond Shale 1.jpg|Diamond Shale in Heroes of Dragon Age Ruby Shale HoDA.png|Tier progression of Ruby Shale in Heroes of Dragon Age Patrick's day shale.jpg|A mock up Shale tile from the Dragon Age Keep team in celebration of St. Patrick's Day File:Promotional Amethyst Shale.jpg|Shale with Spirit Crystals in Heroes of Dragon Age Promotional Emerald Shale.jpg|Artwork of Shale with Nature Crystals in Heroes of Dragon Age See also References de:Shale es:Shale fr:Shale pl:Shale pt-br:Shale Category:Characters Category:Dragon Age: The Stolen Throne characters Category:Dragon Age: Origins characters Category:The Stone Prisoner characters Category:Dragon Age: Asunder characters Category:Dragon Age Legends characters Category:Heroes of Dragon Age characters Category:Dragon Age: Origins companions Category:Dwarves Category:Warrior caste Category:Golems Category:Slaves